Provocation:
A picture book -The wonderful; towers of watts by Patricia Zelver was read to the class and thought provoking questions were asked to help understand the theme of the Unit as well as concepts.
Pre- assessment- Students choose their group members and formed groups to create a structure that will be tall and hold at least one writing book for 30 seconds ,once done they can experiment using many books and explain the process of testing.Later they had to complete a reflection.
A picture book -The wonderful; towers of watts by Patricia Zelver was read to the class and thought provoking questions were asked to help understand the theme of the Unit as well as concepts.
Pre- assessment- Students choose their group members and formed groups to create a structure that will be tall and hold at least one writing book for 30 seconds ,once done they can experiment using many books and explain the process of testing.Later they had to complete a reflection.
Tuning in :Connect ,Extend,Challenge:
Dear
parents,
Setember 30,2015
Greetings
from the Aga Khan Academy, Hyderabad!
Grade
5 students are going to learn about “Buildings
and Structures” in the second unit f inquiry.The central idea (the big understanding)
for the unit is:‘ The design of
buildings and structures is dependent upon the environmental factors and human
ingenuity’. In this unit, we will try to understand how humans use technology
nand scientific principles to design and construct different forms of buildings
based on various factors. The unit falls under the transdisciplinary theme ‘How the world works’. We will focus on the concepts of Form and Prespective (What are buildings like? What kinds of buildings
exist?), Causation (What properties
do we look for while choosing construction materials? What are the steps
involved in construction?)and responsibility
(What factors influence the design and construction of a building? What
kind of materials are to be used to aan extent for constructing eco -frendly and
strong structures)
The
first line of inquiry is ‘Different
forms of buildings and structures’ and the concept is form and prespective. We will find out about the different types
of structures including mud huts, brick buildings, glass buildings, sky
scrapers, dams, tunnels, bridges, etc. We will read books and research on the
internet to get information regarding this. The students will also understand
the purpose of buildings like schools, offices, hospitals, fire stations,
police stations, etc. They will compare their structure using venn diagrams.
The
second line of inquiry is ‘Factors that
influence the design and construction of a building’,with the focus on
concept of causation. This will
include in-depth inquiry into a range of factors like properties and
availability of materials, effects of construction on the environment,
aesthetics, culture, etc. Students will use manipulatives to understand the
basic design of a building. They will conduct experiments to find out the
properties of different materials. The students will watch videos on “green” buildings to develop appreciation for them.
The students will do a case study on their own school building and will derive
information by visiting the campus site and by inviting the engineers as guest
speakers. We will use graphic organizers like fish bone and cause-and-effect
charts.
The third line of inquiry
conceptual focus is responsibility
and it is ‘The use of scientific principles
in construction’. The students will use the Google
Sketch-up tool to create mock designs of buildings. They will read about the
latest machinery used in construction. There will be a field trip to a
construction site for a first-hand experience. An architect will be invited as
a guest speaker. We will also look into the ‘Aga Khan Award for Architecture’.
In
this unit, there will be a lot of math integration, especially in the shapes
and measurements strands. We will learn about the use of different shapes in
the design of a building focus on symmetry,area, perimeter and shapes. Students
will learn to make blueprints of an existing building and to create blueprints
on their own. They will derive formulae to measure the areas and perimeters of
rectangular spaces. They will learn to use different units for measuring
length. They will observe the patterns and symmetries in building designs. In
language, we will focus on the genres of instruction, chronology and
explanation.
Feel
free to communicate with us regarding this through student diaries, emails and
blogs. Also let us know if you are interested in sharing your experiences about
the construction of your own house.
Warm
regards,
Team
Grade 5
Resources:
This site includes great
facts and challenges spanning bridges, domes, skyscrapers, dams, and tunnels.
Another Related Website
from PBS:
Related Website:
This site is designed to
help people explore and learn about the interesting and varied careers in the
construction industry.
Related Website:
2) Carpentry and
Construction Career Guide from Vocational
Information Center
3) Civil & Structural
Engineering Technology Online from British
Columbia Institute of Technology http://www.civil.bcit.ca/edufacts/edufacts.html
Check out the Great Picture Book of Construction
Equipment(http://www.kenkenkikki.jp/zukan/e_index.html),
meet Kikki's friends, or enter their coloring picture grand prix.
Related Websites:
2) Building Stuff from Texas Department of Transportationhttp://www.dot.state.tx.us/kidsonly/BuildStuff/Buildstuff.htm
5) Everything About
Construction Equipment from Komatsu
Ltd.http://www.kenkenkikki.jp/special/e_index.html
7) Tools of the Master
Builder Series from About.comhttp://construction.about.com/library/weekly/blmastol.htm
New Yorkers go about
unaware of what is happening just beneath their feet: Power pulses, information
flies, and steam flows. The city's infrastructure starts just below street
level, but it doesn't stop there.
Related Websites:
2) Down the Drain:
Chicago's Sewers from Chicago
Public Library
You may
also want to visit these related websites: (1) Architecture(http://42explore.com/arch.htm), (2) Bridge Building (http://42explore.com/bridge.htm), (3) Castles (http://42explore.com/castle.htm), (4) Railroads (http://42explore.com/railroad.htm), and (5) Shelters (http://42explore.com/sheltr.htm), - - all from eduScapes 42eXplore.
|
Websites
By Kids For Kids
Learn all about the
buildings that make Chicago a unique center of architecture.
This webproject looks at
the five tallest buildings in the world (as of August 2000), the Petronas Towers,
the Sears Tower, the World Trade Towers, the Jin Mao Building, and Sky Central
Plaza.
Learn about the buildings
that once were considered to be true wonders. Find out what has happened to
them over time and what is left of them.
Online
Journals for Building & Construction
- Architecture
Week http://www.architectureweek.com/
- Building
(Great Britain) http://www.building.co.uk/
- Building
Design & Construction http://www.bdcmag.com/
- Fine
Homebuilding from The
Taunton Press http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/
- Fine
Homebuilding Online Archives from Taunton
Press http://taunton.com/store/fharchive/
- Journal
of Light Construction http://www.jlconline.com/
- Smart
HomeOwner http://www.smarthomeownermag.com/
Structures
of the World
Learn about the
construction of the Gateway Arch (St. Louis, Missouri), the materials and
techniques used to build it, and even take a look at the mathematical equation
used to create the catenary curve shape of the Arch.
In the first two decades
of the 20th Century, an unprecedented development of massive industrial
structures changed the face of Detroit and heralded a second industrial
revolution. Today all of those structures are in ruins, abandoned, decayed or
destroyed.
Get your feet wet
investigating dams! Contemplate why—and How—people build dams, and explore the
good and bad impacts a dam may have on a community. And find questions to probe
further.
Related Websites:
This online databaseDOCUMENTS
a thousand buildings and hundreds of leading architects, with 3D
models, photographic images and architectural drawings, commentaries, bibliographies,
web links, and more, for famous designers and structures of all kinds.
![http://cdncache-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png](file:///C:/Users/safum/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.png)
Learn about some ancient
and historical engineering and construction feats.
Learn how the greatest
engineering feats in American history were accomplished, including the
electrification of America, building the Hoover Dam, constructing the George
Washington Bridge in NY, and Boston's Big Dig.
Here is a a gallery of the
world's greatest structures!
Follow a construction
timeline, get dam facts, and learn about the people and events throughout the
dam's history.
Related Website:
Construction of the Empire
State Building began in March of 1930 on the site of the old Waldorf-Astoria
Hotel at 350 Fifth Avenue at 34th Street. It was completed 14 months later in
May, 1931. Check out photos of the construction of this building and find lots
of facts about it.
Related Website:
This site relates the
history of the cathedral which was constructed between the years 1163 and 1285.
Related Website:
Here you find photos and
facts on this Chicago building.
Related Website:
2) 1973 Sears Tower from Chicago Public Libraryhttp://www.chipublib.org/004chicago/timeline/searstower.html
The list comprised the
seven most impressive monuments of the Ancient World, some of which barely
survived to the Middle Ages.
This is a database of the
skyscrapers and tall structures of the world.
Other Related Websites:
5) How Skyscrapers Work
(Webpage 1 of 8) by T. Harris from How
Stuff Works
The construction of a
tower is one of mankind's oldest dreams. For earlier civilizations, a tower
made it possible to see the approaching enemy and protect oneself. Modern
ingenuity and technology now make it possible to reach incredible height.
This website remembers the
Twin Towers for everything they were - - a remarkable technological
achievement, a representation of an ideal, and ultimately, a staggering
reminder of our own vulnerability.
More
Websites on Building & Construction
In the areas of
architecture, engineering, construction, and home building, this site offers a
lot: updates on governmental regulation, on-line specs, interactive discussion,
a building product library and links to other sites.
This site is designed for
use by anyone involved with residential construction.
Related Websites:
4) How House Construction
Works (Webpage 1 of 18) by M. Brain from HowStuffWorks
Site dedicated to building
manufacturers, building dealers, building designers and remodelers, building
design software and building specialists, for the building industry.
Related Websites:
CPWR is the research arm
of the Building and Construction Trades Dept., AFL-CIO. Focusing on
construction worker safety, they offer here hazard alerts, a publications list,
newsletter, and related links.
Site contains condensed
guides to the most commonly cited code violations encountered by building
inspectors.
Related Websites:
4) When is a Permit Required?
from City of Alexandria, VAhttp://ci.alexandria.va.us/city/codeenforcement/1_2_2_1.html
This comprehensive website
provides information and resources for engineering, architecture, interior
design, construction, building inspection and land surveying industries.
This indexed list of
defined terms is focused on home construction.
This comprehensive site
leads to information and resources for residential and commercial building,
codes and authorities, jobs and careers, and much, much more.
Here you can access
construction-related news stories, magazine and web articles from (1)The
Architects' Journal, (2) Construction
News, and (3) New Civil
Engineer, plus a database of current construction products, and more.
This site provides monthly
statistics on housing construction. You can also get answers here to frequently
asked questions about construction statistics.
This comprehensive web
portal represents all facets of the construction industry.
Click on a state to learn
of its license requirements or learn how to find out if a contractor is
licensed in that state.
Building is fun, but it's
exciting to watch a structure blown down!
This organization studies
and reports on all aspects of the planning, design, and construction of tall
buildings. They are also concerned with the role and impact of tall buildings
on the urban environment.
Once you have your home
picked out, you can try different floor coverings in various rooms with this
website. Choose the type of flooring, a room in the house, the style of the
room, and the type of flooring that you think you would like. Presto! Your room
has the floor covering you chose!
This website promotes the
development of commercial buildings that are energy efficient, healthy and
comfortable places to live, work, and play.
Search and view house
plans, get information about building codes, and more.
Related Websites:
This is a step-by-step
remodeling and repair guide.
Related Websites:
This organization lists
commercial, residential and government construction projects and notifies a large
base of quality contractors nationwide. Much of the site is restricted to
members; however, you can visit the message boards and read a few online
articles.
This links-site provides
an information resource for structural engineering related topics.
Related Website:
2) World Wide Web Virtual
Library for Civil Engineeering
This is the official
website for the television program.
Very few people know of
the field called Materials Engineering. It all begins with some component of
the Earth, organic or inorganic, which can be reduced to create materials
useful to civilization. Learn what its all about.
Related Websites:
5) Links from Building Materials and Wood
Technology, University of
Massachusetts Amherst
Websites
For Teachers
Children will develop social,
language, math, creative-thinking, and problem-solving skills as they work
together to plan and design a building using large appliance boxes.
Here you find a large
collection of categorized lesson plans.
Using the book “Stuart
Little” students will learn how to build a dwelling, for Stuart, scaled down to
his mouse size.
This activity is designed
to show students that cost, time, planning, modeling, designs, teamwork, and
application are important in learning about "real world" construction
projects.
The approach to learning
is is based on a simple learning process - - the 4Cs: Connect, Construct,
Contemplate, Continue.
Here is a source for
purchasing paper model kits of famous buildings and structures.
Students investigate the
complexity of designing and creating large structures such as skyscrapers.
This lesson helps students
understand the need for city infrastructure and the importance of good systems
for a healthy neighborhood or city. It also focuses on the history of the city
and its different uses of land over time.
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